


Stay

by ghostbutts



Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M, Mute Dave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-06
Updated: 2012-10-06
Packaged: 2017-11-15 18:04:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/530134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostbutts/pseuds/ghostbutts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dave remembers his childhood with John and then worries if his future will continue to have his best friend in it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay

**Author's Note:**

> This was written at 3 A.M. for my friend after she sent me a plot because she wanted mute Dave falling off the monkey bars and John comforting him.

 Dave remembered when he was a kid, waking up and doing his best to say good morning to his brother, only to be greeted by his brother signing good morning back. Dave hated sign language, he was fine with his pad and pencil.

 Dave also remembered the day he met John, he fell from the monkey bars, tears streamed down his face and that horrid wheezing sound came from his throat. He had tried to scream out, instead he heard the laughter of kids that surrounded him,  some had mimicked the gross noise he had made. One kid though, one kid watched him from the swings. This kid hadn't laughed, only stared at Dave, dead in the eyes. 

 He had jumped from the swing and walked up to Dave, shooed the kids away and reached out and helped Dave up. He introduced himself as John and wanted to know if anyone was at the park with him. Dave had to take out his pad and explain that his brother had run back to their apartment to turn off the stove. They had made mac-n-cheese before they left.

 Dave remembered John had looked at the pad and chuckled, Dave was prepared for this kid was about to tease him, but he went on to state how Dave was really taking this 'no talking to strangers' thing to a new level. Dave had just stared back, how could this kid not understand. John had led them to a bench and kept talking about how he'd wait with Dave and how he never met a such a shy kid. It wasn't until Dave's bro showed up and had to explain to John that Dave couldn't talk.

 After that John seemed to be at the park every time Dave was there. He'd wave and run over chatting about his day and waited patiently for Dave to write out his response. In a month they became almost inseparable, John would stop by Dave's apartment everyday after school and they would battle each other in Pokémon, watch cartoons, and sometimes they would lie head to head on the couch and Dave would listen to John tell stories of aliens and imps with Dave throwing notes to John every once and a while.

 Fifteen years later and nothings changed, except instead of hanging in Dave's apartment, they were hanging in their dorm still playing Pokémon and watching cartoons.

 John was away at classes all day and Dave was using that time to do some of his own online classes. John talked him into taking a couple classes in an actual classroom because, "Wow Dave, staying in a dorm all day is unhealthy and I'm pretty sure you're not even eligible for a dorm if you don't actually have a reason to be on campus." He wished attendance didn't count so much grade-wise.

 Dave put his head down on the table. Thinking of grades reminded him that the end of freshman year was approaching fast and attendance wasn't the only things stressing him out. He figured that his time with John was now limited, who would want to spend their life with a clingy, mute kid. Especially because John had made some good friends over the year, and even though he would take Dave along when hanging out with them, Dave always felt like the fifth wheel.  John would surely want to room with friends who would be able to sing along with him when he was drunk, friends who would actually produced laughter at his jokes, friends who didn't mind running to the grocery store alone without the fear of the cashier trying to talk to them and they can't say anything back. 

 Online classes had been forgotten as Dave now paced around the futon. On one hand he wanted to tell John everything. How he's never been more comfortable than when he's with his best friend. Heck, even Bro had commented on how Dave never really smiled unless John was around. Dave couldn't imagine a life without John right there by his side. What would he do? Go back home and work for his brother for the rest of his life? He wanted to be with John, in a house, with a fireplace. They would have Bro and Papa Egbert over for holidays, he wouldn't even mind John's friends coming over. He did like one of John's new friends but he could only handle her so long before she tried to psychoanalyze him.

 Dave's pacing was getting borderline frantic because, on the other hand, he was holding John back. It's not like he wasn't trying to be independent though, he had finally seen someone for help and gotten medication for his anxiety and John even promised to help him get through it. He knew John was putting his life on hold for him, he just kept that knowledge in the back of his head. John had gotten into some pretty nice colleges out of state, one had even offered a full scholarship but when he heard Dave could only afford their instate college he decided to go there.

 Dave slumped over on the futon face down, tears sneaking out of his eyes. God, he was horrible, he was in love with his best friend and the thought of John leaving was killing him. He was full on crying when he heard the key in the door. One of his therapists once told him it was okay to cry, he needed that feeling of 'outwardly releasing emotions' but hell if he was going to let anyone see. He wiped his tears and tucked his face under his arms.

 "Haha dude did you even move today? When I left this morning you were it that same spot."

 Dave heard John toss his backpack into the bedroom then footsteps walking over to their minifridge/microwave combo machine and flipped the bird in that direction.

 "Rude. I even brought home pizza." 

 John's voice was getting closer and then a weight was dropped on Dave's back as John sat on him. Fucking bastard, what was he thinking loving John. John was an ass. A fatass. 

 "I guess I'll just eat it myself, I even got veggie supreme," John was speaking between bites.

_Veggie supreme is my favorite, you fucker,_ Dave was trying to wrestle his phone out of his pocket. Years ago he traded in his trusty pad and pencil for and iPhone and chat clients. It was much faster for him to type than scribble out words and even though he was fluent in Sign he still hated it as much as he did when he was a kid. Breaking his phone free from his pocket he quickly typed out his message to John. 

TG: get the fuck off me

TG: you fatass

TG: i want pizza

 Pings go off on John's phone…which is coming from the bedroom where he threw his stuff. The butt just jiggles as the boy it's attached to laughs, "Oh nooo, where's my phone? It's not in my pocket. I'll just eat another slice of pizza."

TG: you butt doesnt need another piece

TG: im dying

TG: i cant breathe

TG: good

TG: bye

 When John still hadn't budged, Dave started to thrash around. He needed this ass off him. He needed pizza. John kept good balance until one bounce caused him to choke on a bit on pizza and Dave rolled out from underneath him. Glaring at John he got up and went to grab a slice only to have his hand slapped away. 

 "You didn't ask," John managed to say through the huge shit eating grin he was sporting. 

  _Wow, this is worse than a surprise smuppet pile._ Dave kept from tackling his friend and slowly pointed to his phone and then to the bedroom.

 "Yeah, but I don't have my phone, you should just sign it." John had taken Sign Language in high school and ever since does his best to have conversations with Dave through it.

  _Not today,_ Dave kept his glare, _I will not give into demands after being crushed to death by your butt._ He turned and went into the bedroom grabbed John's phone from his backpack and chucked it to the futon.

 "Hey!! My phone!! Don't go breaking another one, my dad was pretty mad the last two times," he put down his pizza and put the phone in his hoodie pocket.

 Dave couldn't handle this.

TG: dont put it away

TG: omg take your phone out

TG: look at it

 "Dave c'mon, don't do that thing where you make it ping over and over."

TG: ping

TG: ping

TG: piing

TG: ping

 "I don't see want your problem is with signing," John was pouting now. "Okay fine don't sign, do an interpretive dance." 

TG: john give me pizza

TG: johnny babe pls

 "Why are you being such a Debbie Downer?"

TG: im gonna die and youll have to explain it to Bro that you killed me

TG: then hell probably kill you

 John continued to munch on now his third piece of pizza, staring at up at Dave. 

TG: i hate you

TG: i want you to know that

TG: you know before i die

 Dave collapsed on the part of the futon John wasn't taking up and turned on the T.V. He slid off to the ground and crawled to the dvd player and popped in a disk and crawled back onto the futon. 

 "Hey Dave, " John paused, "is everything okay? You've been kinda tense lately."

TG: im fine

 "You're really gonna make me check my phone," he sighed and pulled his it out of his hoodie, "Heh, Bro probably would kill me but I'm not buying that 'I'm fine' bullshit."

TG: really though im okay

TG: like its just me thinking about the future and stuff

TG: no big deal

 John reached out and slapped Dave on the stomach, "What about the future? I think it will be exciting! Next year we can get an apartment near campus so we have more room and our own kitchen. It's gonna be fun Dave!" 

TG: by more room do you mean like

TG: idk like 

 Dave stopped his typing and John looked up from his phone confusion all over his face. Dave's shoulders drooped.

TG: like more people

TG: more people in the apt than just us

TG: because idk i was thinking i could just move

 John grabbed the phone from Dave, "I don't like where that thought was going." he looked back up grinning, "Dave, of course I mean just you and me. C'mon you can't get rid of me that easily!"

 Dave felt his face contort to a stupid grin. Maybe there was a fireplace in their future after all.

 "Auugh Dave!" John's voice burst through the fireplace taking form in Dave's mind,  "We watched Beetlejuice last night!!" looks like the previews ended, "I know it's October, but I refuse to believe this is the only Halloween movie you have."

 Dave shrugged and pressed play. 

 "Daaave, let's watch one of my movies, okay?! Here's the pizza, eat it!" John was shoving the box into Dave's side but Dave was ignoring him, "Don't make me feed you."

  _He wouldn't._

  _Oh my god, he would._  

 John was right next to him, pizza slice in hand, "Choo Choo! Make a tunnel for the train!" 

 Dave pushed him away.

 "Now, now baby Davy, you need to behave."

 The next moment Dave felt the pizza smacked against his face. John had thrown a perfectly good slice of pizza and now it was on the floor. Dave saluted the fallen soldier and tackled John off the futon. They fell to the floor and Dave had the upper hand while John was protecting his glasses but with a slip of his foot he found himself pinned under the bigger of the two. John was always a bit huskier than Dave giving him the upper hand in close combat. Dave just blew a raspberry in John's face and John rolled off him and laughed and Dave cover his mouth and laugh in his own way along with John.

 The two boys laid next to each other on the floor for a while until hunger got the best of Dave. He was the first one back on the futon wiping his face off and greedily grabbing pizza to shove into his mouth. Moments later John sat back down next to Dave and poked his arm, "I guess we can watch Beetlejuice again tonight."

 Dave finished his fourth slice by the middle of the movie and with the warmth in his stomach and the calmness from all his self-induced stress earlier he felt safe. So safe he could just shut his eyes right now and fall asleep. He didn't even realized his head was drifting to John's shoulder and by the time it made contact he was out. He didn't even get to feel John pull him closer and rest his head in his hair. He didn't get to hear John's whisper into his ear: 

 "Dave…I think I seriously love you. Like I've been thinking about it and Rose made me make a list of the things I love about you. So...

I love the way you get flustered when you make any types of sounds. Did you know you talk in your sleep, it's so cute. That's why I do my best to stay up later than you.

I love the way you always make these butterflies fly around my stomach. I love your eyes…and your nose and freckles and you. I just really love you. 

I love watching you. Your movements are so fluid it's like you're always dancing. Walking next to you I feel as if I really was born with two left feet. And your hands when you sign, fucking swooning here bro.

Oh! I love the way you laugh. Gosh, Dave, I really love it. Your whole body gets thrown into it and you look so happy. I want to kiss you and make you remove your hand from your mouth. You are perfect. You shouldn't hide anything about you. Sometimes I hear you try to sing in the shower and my heart breaks. I know how much you love music and I would totally trade Ursula my voice to give you one. Ugh, that was lame, who references Disney anyways? But seriously I would, ya know, if we were mermen.

Heh, I hope you don't wake up, that would be embarrassing…this is much cheesier in real life than on paper. I don't know how I would even tell you this if you were awake."

 John let out a yawn and kisses Dave softly on the head. 

 "I love you, Dave Strider."

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I only write for fun and I've failed any English class I've ever been in so sorry if there's bad grammar and stuff lol


End file.
